Somatic Systems

 

This week's quote comes from Nelson Mandela and doesn't require any commentary on my part...

“Our deepest fear is not that we
are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not
our darkness that
most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous; talented, and
fabulous?
Actually, who are you
not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t
save the world.
There is nothing enlightening
about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure
around you.
We are born to make manifest
the glory of God
that is within us.
It is not in just some of us; it is in
everyone.
And when we let our own light
shine, we unconsciously give
other people permission to do the
same.
As we are liberated from
our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.”

- Nelson Mandela
1994 Inaugural Speech
South Africa

A couple weeks back a client of mine told me about a friend who had thrown out his back picking a towel up off the floor.  Most people might be surprised to hear that picking up a light seemingly innocuous object is how most people throw their back out.  It is usually not lifting something big and heavy because people recognize that the object is big and heavy, so take the time to brace and prepare themselves for the movement.  The injuries happen with the simple stuff...I have heard of guys losing it while bending over to pick up a credit card.

Why?  Because they don't associate the object with any type of risk and they dive into the movement but their reflexive stabilizing mechanisms are dysfunctional and they don't get the support they need as they bend over...the weight of their own body is not controlled properly and the back gets nailed.

Anyway, I offered to help the person with his recovery (that is after all what I do for a living), but for a variety of reasons the person was not able to arrange to work with me.  OK, no problem...those things happen.  However, I got a bit concerned when I later learned that he was planning on going to a local gym and booking some sessions with a trainer there.  Being reasonable and opened minded I can say maybe the trainer he ends up working with really knows what he is doing and can help this person with his back problem.  On the other hand, there is also a very good chance that this person has no clue how to deal with back injuries and will just screw this person up more.

How can the guy tell if he is in good hands or not?  The message I passed on to him via my client is the same one I will share with you all here: if the trainer puts him on ANY seated resistance training machine as part of his program then I am about 100% confident the trainer does not know what he/she is really doing and the person is at risk of getting a lot worse.

That is the simple barometer for the lay person to use when assessing whether or not they are in capable hands for back issues.  Why?  Because the back is having problems because the person's body has dysfunctional movement mechanics...and you can't retrain movement mechanics sitting on a machine pushing and pulling levers.  Those machines are actually the anti-thesis of real live movement.

The person needs to regain the ability to stand and move on their feet with all of their joints and tissues working together with synergy.  Without that, problems will never resolve.

This is also why back problems (and a lot of other problems) can't be corrected with stretching alone or forms of manual therapy.  Stretching and manual therapy are very good adjuncts to a rehabilitation program...I ensure my clients do it.

BUT, unless the body is retrained to move effectively and handle load (something that stretching and manual therapy cannot do because there is no motor learning nor tissue strengthening involved), then the problem will persist indefinitely.  How many people do you know who have some type of pain issue and stretch a bunch or do lots of manual therapy, but never really get better year after year?  Something to think about...

A lot of great coaches I admire regularly introduce exercises that people ought to be doing...I am going to do the opposite and help people streamline and maximize their training by removing the extraneous.

Keep in mind that I never totally write off any exercise, because depending on the person, goal and situation any exercise might become useful...however lots of exercises get abused and overused, and often don't really provide the return on investment that people expect.

I just have to begin this series with Tricep Pushdowns.  For some reason this has become such a staple in workout routines, and I just don't get it.  With a bar, with a rope, either way it doesn't matter...more often than not the Tricep Pushdown is really not doing much for you.

If you are a competitive bodybuilder or figure competitor and really need to dial in certain specifics in the size/shape of your triceps then you probably have good reason to do them.  Or, you might do it for a few weeks as part of a specific rehab program (few weeks NOT few years).  Other than that, what is the rationale for isolating your triceps like this?

Seriously, what is this really doing for this guy?!?!


For most people this exercise is a colossal time waster...especially since most people who do this don't even perform it correctly.  Hunching over and pushing a bar/rope down...what has that really gotten you?  Improved athletic performance?  Hardly.  Improved metabolic rate for weight loss?  Nope.  Improved function overall?  I highly doubt it.

You would be far better served by learning how to do proper pushups with elbows tucked in close to the body.  Not only would your triceps be challenged, you would also be stabilizing your shoulder and scapulae as well as developing your anterior abdominal wall (proper pushups are like doing planks for a minute or two).

OK, spinal posture is a bit off, but at least her arms are in the right place...


This is especially true for women interested tightening up the underside/back of their arm.  Correct pushups are about 100x more effective than Tricep Pushdowns and their equally misused cousin the Tricep Kickback.

Just wasting time...and with bad form I might add...


Actually, my argument against the the Kickback is essentially the same for the Pushdown, so rather than write a separate post I will just include it here as a time waster you are probably better off dropping.

99% of the people I see in training facilities doing either of these exercises are clearly wasting their time and could be doing much more useful activities...don't be one of them.

 "The first and most important step towards success is the feeling that we can succeed."
―Nelson Boswell

Though it may seem obvious, people very rarely succeed to any degree if they don't in fact believe they can do so.  Sure, some lucky breaks may occur unexpectedly along with some small victories.  But in the long run if we don't believe it is possible, if we don't feel we can succeed, then our failure is pretty much guaranteed.

On the other hand, history is ripe with examples of success against all odds, and the individuals involved generally share the common trait of truly feeling that success was possible...no matter how improbable the situation may have seemed.

"You'll never be a loser until you quit trying."
―Mike Ditka

More and more I come to realize how true this concept really is.  Like the old adage of "6 times knocked down, 7 times get up", ultimate failure and loss occurs when people give up all together...when they don't get back up, when they give up on their dreams.

Sure there will be small losses and setbacks along the way, but when we stop trying...well that is when it truly ends.